Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler

TULSA: Five First-Degree Murder charges were filed today against Robert Davis Bever, 18, and Michael John Bever, 16, in the stabbing deaths of their parents and three siblings at their Broken Arrow home on July 22. Robert and Michael Bever were also charged with Assault and Battery With Intent to Kill for multiple stabbings of a 13-year-old sister who survived the attack.

The brothers are charged in concert for murder in the deaths of parents David and April Bever and siblings Daniel, Christopher and Victoria. They are also charged in concert in the attack on the surviving sister. The defendants are presumed to be innocent under the law.
Under Oklahoma law, a 16-year-old is charged with First-Degree Murder as an adult.

Oklahoma Statutes Title 10A. Children and Juvenile Code
Article 2 – Oklahoma Juvenile Code
Article Chapter 5 – Treatment of Serious Acts
Section 2-5-205 – Youthful Offender Certification
A. Any person thirteen (13) or fourteen (14) years of age who is charged with murder in the first degree shall be held accountable for the act as if the person were an adult; provided, the person may be certified as a youthful offender or a juvenile as provided by this section, unless the person is subject to the provisions of subsection G of Section 2-5-204 of this title.
B. Any person fifteen (15), sixteen (16) or seventeen (17) years of age who is charged with murder in the first degree at that time shall be held accountable for his or her act as if the person was an adult and shall not be subject to the provisions of the Youthful Offender Act or the provisions of the Juvenile Code for certification as a juvenile. The person shall have all the statutory rights and protections of an adult accused of a crime. All proceedings shall be as for a criminal action and the provisions of Title 22 of the Oklahoma Statutes shall apply. A person having been convicted as an adult pursuant to this paragraph shall be tried as an adult for every subsequent offense.